St. Luke’s Episcopal Church 178 South Main Street—P.O. Box 909 Buffalo, WY 82834 May, 2017 T HE S EEKERS Seeking to know and grow in Christ through education, dedication, and service. T HOUGHTS FROM F R . D OUG “Keep alert, stand firm in your faith, be courageous, be strong. Let all that you do be done in love.” ...1 Cor. 16:13 INSIDE THIS ISSUE: Growing through Giving 2 From the Senior Warden 3 Vestry Contact Information 3 ECW Luncheon, Featuring Special Presentation 4 Meals on Wheels/ St. Luke’s Honors Her Graduates 5 Family & Friends Potluck Dinner 5 Last Day of Sunday School 6 It has been a good season of Lent. Now I am looking forward to the season of Easter. On Easter Sunday I held up an urn and pointed inside, for everybody to see. What they saw was an empty space. Yes, when we look for Jesus at the place of death, we will not find him there. Why? Because Jesus will always be found among the living. Among us. This is an opportune time to hit the “reset button” on our relationship with Jesus. The world and the darker side of human nature were revealed. When we encounter the unknown and uncontrollable, we will take great steps in gain control or eliminate that which we don’t understand. Jesus, when he went to the cross, took with him a profound sense of betrayal and shame. He placed it in a tomb and walked out with love and forgiveness. When Jesus met with his followers and friends after the resurrection, his body remained damaged, but his love and desire for them remained strong. Jesus was not mad or disappointed with his disciples. He was ready to commission them to carry on the message that love is stronger than hate and death has been defeated by life. He shared his joy by sending them out into the world, transformed and changed people. If Jesus was willing, and even eager, to forgive after what he experienced on that last week of his life in Jerusalem, just think about the amount of love God has to offer. The human mind and heart cannot contain it. Much in the same way the tomb could not hold Jesus. There is a scandal with Easter. The scandal is not that the world attempted to stop the Prince of Peace by placing him on a cross. The scandal is not even that the tomb was empty. The scandal is to believe that it is death that is permanent. What Jesus did with his resurrection proved another point. It is life that is permanent and death is only a moment of transformation from one way of being in life, to another. When Jesus met with his disciples after he rose, their lives were completely changed. They went from fear to joy. The went from hiding to proclaiming. Their moment of betrayal was transformed to a life of loving and sharing. Jesus asked them to forgive others as they had been forgiven. He freed them and he asked that they free others. There is no reward in death. The gift of love is to have life and have life abundantly. That is the Easter promise. Accept the gift of life. Dance in the light of the Risen One. Rejoice! Jesus returned so that we may live! Now, stop staring at the empty tomb, Jesus is not there. Jesus is among the living, and so are we. Fr. Doug+
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St. Luke’s Episcopal Church
178 South Main Street—P.O. Box 909
Buffalo, WY 82834
May, 2017
THE SEEKERS
Seeking to know and
grow in Christ
through education,
dedication, and service.
T H O U G H T S F R O M F R . D O U G
“Keep alert, stand firm in
your faith, be courageous, be
strong. Let all that you do be
done in love.”
...1 Cor. 16:13
I N S I D E T H I S I S S U E :
Growing through Giving
2
From the Senior Warden
3
Vestry Contact Information
3
ECW Luncheon, Featuring Special Presentation
4
Meals on Wheels/ St. Luke’s Honors Her Graduates
5
Family & Friends Potluck Dinner
5
Last Day of Sunday School
6
It has been a good season of Lent. Now I am looking forward to the
season of Easter. On Easter Sunday I held up an urn and pointed inside, for
everybody to see. What they saw was an empty space. Yes, when we look for
Jesus at the place of death, we will not find him there. Why? Because Jesus
will always be found among the living. Among us.
This is an opportune time to hit the “reset button” on our relationship
with Jesus. The world and the darker side of human nature were revealed.
When we encounter the unknown and uncontrollable, we will take great steps
in gain control or eliminate that which we don’t understand. Jesus, when he
went to the cross, took with him a profound sense of betrayal and shame. He
placed it in a tomb and walked out with love and forgiveness.
When Jesus met with his followers and friends after the resurrection,
his body remained damaged, but his love and desire for them remained strong.
Jesus was not mad or disappointed with his disciples. He was ready to
commission them to carry on the message that love is stronger than hate and
death has been defeated by life. He shared his joy by sending them out into
the world, transformed and changed people. If Jesus was willing, and even
eager, to forgive after what he experienced on that last week of his life in
Jerusalem, just think about the amount of love God has to offer. The human
mind and heart cannot contain it. Much in the same way the tomb could not
hold Jesus.
There is a scandal with Easter. The scandal is not that the world
attempted to stop the Prince of Peace by placing him on a cross. The scandal
is not even that the tomb was empty. The scandal is to believe that it is death
that is permanent. What Jesus did with his resurrection proved another point.
It is life that is permanent and death is only a moment of transformation from
one way of being in life, to another.
When Jesus met with his disciples after he rose, their lives were completely
changed. They went from fear to joy. The went from hiding to proclaiming.
Their moment of betrayal was transformed to a life of loving and sharing. Jesus
asked them to forgive others as they had been forgiven. He freed them and he
asked that they free others. There is no reward in death. The gift of love is to
have life and have life abundantly. That is the Easter promise.
Accept the gift of life. Dance in the light of the Risen One. Rejoice!
Jesus returned so that we may live! Now, stop staring at the empty tomb,
Jesus is not there. Jesus is among the living, and so are we.
Fr. Doug+
The Seekers Page 2
GROWING THROUGH GIVING
I was talking with my wife one evening and the subject of giving came up. Sure,
the standard for giving is 10%, which is considered a tithe, and I am sure people work toward, or reach,
that standard in their giving. However, there is another important part of giving to the Church. She
pointed out that it isn’t always the amount of money that we give that matters. It is about the heart.
The “heart” of the matter is the attitude in which the giving takes place. When a person gives the
expectation of 10% out of a sense of obligation and duty, they may experience a sense of resentment
and frustration. In a sense, this approach is almost like a business transaction. One party pays for the
service or goods from another party.
When it comes to issues of faith, this approach will not work. It is simply focused on the wrong
understanding. God already gave everything to us. Jesus arrived in our world to join us in our journey
through life. God already chose to give without conditions or requirements. The reason it is taught to
give is so that we can have our lives and joy increase.
Pray about what needs to be changed or revealed when it comes to giving. It is all about the
matter of the heart. When the heart becomes joyful in giving, the blessing becomes real. The giving
moves from receiving. Then God rejoices and we are blessed.
Lunch will be from The Breadboard. A sign-up sheet and menu are posted.
All St. Luke’s women are cordially invited, and your guests are always welcome!
Working and can’t stay for the meeting? Please come and have lunch anyhow.
Feel free to leave when you need to!
THANK YOU, ST. LUKE’S CHOIR!
The choir will be singing for the last time until fall on Sunday, May 21st. We thank the members, Director Louise Anderson, and Organist Emily Whipple for their faithful and devoted service this past
church year. You have blessed us with your talents and inspired us with your commitment to this important ministry. We wish you each a happy summer’s rest, and we look forward to your return in September!
We offer our special thanks to Emily Whipple, whose services at the organ will continue during the summer months. You are a blessing, Emily, and we are so grateful to have you.
A SPECIAL TREAT FOR THE WOMEN OF ST. LUKE’S
For the last meeting of the spring, the ECW has invited Donna Mortensen to give her
demonstration of how she creates paintings with fabric. The women of St. Luke’s are
especially invited to this demonstration on May 10th at noon, in the Onderdonk.
Donna is a local pastel-acrylic artist and also a quilter. She will share how she puts the two mediums
together, to form a beautiful landscape quilted wall-hanging.
Please sign up for a lunch ($5.00 from the Breadboard) or feel free to bring your own. A short ECW
meeting may be held after the lunch and demonstration.
HERE’S A CHANCE
TO SERVE!
Louise will be looking for special
music for the 10 A.M. Services throughout the summer. A sign-up sheet for volunteers will be posted in Onderdonk Hall. If you sing, or if you play an instrument, please offer your talent for the glory of God! Duets, trios, and groups are welcome and encouraged. Questions? You can contact Louise at 684-7907.
The Seekers Page 5
J U N E I S S T . L U K E ’ S M O N T H T O D E L I V E R
M E A L S O N W H E E L S !
The time is drawing closer for St. Luke’s to deliver Meals on
Wheels during the month of June. Volunteers will be needed
each Monday, Wednesday, and Friday during the month. It is
recommended that you do this as a team, with one person
driving and the other delivering the food. (Besides, it is more fun
to do it this way!) A sign-up sheet/schedule is already posted in
the Onderdonk, so all you have to do is get together with some-
one, check out the dates, and VOLUNTEER.
Again, we urge each person who is able, to consider offering
themselves in support of this extremely important ministry to our
elderly and shut-in’s in this community. This is an opportunity to
truly be “His hands and feet” in Buffalo, Wyoming.
The Senior Center now has four routes and averages 50-60
Home-Delivered Meals a day, 6 days a week. In past years,
volunteers delivered over 18,000 Home-Delivered Meals in
Johnson County. Come and be a part of this urgently needed
service to the ill and home-bound in our community. If you are
new to this ministry or need a partner or have questions, please